Warren Vach

Cornetist Warren Vaché brought two pals along on his fancy night out on the town, or in other words his new album Dream Dancing. Pianist Bill Charlap and tenor saxophonist Harry Allen join Vaché's trio rounded out by Dennis Irwin on bass and Eddie Locke on drums. This disc is for fun, entertaining times, or those moments when you just feel like relishing in your own splendid company.

Fred Astaire actually danced to many of these tunes in various films with various leading ladies. It's no wonder Vaché's renditions call up distant memories from the glittering '50s or earlier. Memories of evenings that perhaps only occurred in dreams. In the title track Vaché and Allen's brass dialogue evokes those times when the only things that matters are your coiffed hair, shined shoes and a wad in your wallet for dinner and champagne. Charlap's keys sparkle in just the right places like the lights gleaming off your cuff links. Then the horns come back in and everybody's swinging. "Too Late Now," "You're A Lucky Guy," "You're All The World To Me," and "I'm Shooting High" evoke equally shimmering festivities. And for the final track Vaché offers a wonderful surprise. His own, unadorned, unaltered voice sings "Not Exactly Paris," a bittersweet recollection of a very special girl.

Warren Vaché
My Shining Hour
Nagel-Heyer
2003

Vaché's clarinet playing, younger brother Allan joins him on My Shining Hour , recorded live in Hamburg. This digitally mastered re-release also featuring pianist Brian Lemon, guitarist Dave Cliff, bassist Dave Green and drummer Allan Ganley, includes ten tracks from that brilliantly energetic evening. When all five are playing, the sound resembles a carnival tramping through pink-tinged clouds.

While the title track displays Warren Vaché's eager enthusiasm to stay ahead of the moment, "I Fall In Love Too Easily" shows his sensitivity for each note, and the effects each combination has on the whole, whether playing a short phrase and letting the last note dwindle, or softly repeating just a few notes again and again.

Allan Vaché adds New Orleans flair to "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," tracing loop-di-loops in the air with his clarinet. Cliff solos on guitar with unconstrained vivacity while Green hammers out a bass line through the duration. Ellington's "Purple Gazelle" features a jaunty solo by Lemon on piano, while Ganley hashes out a shoulder-shaking rhythm spotted with gussying fills.

On "There'll Never Be Another You," Allan Vaché gets into the super high registers of his clarinet, and suddenly the happy carnival in the sky becomes a bit frightening. Kind of like the scary clown. Though judging by the hooting crowd, it seemed to please. Perhaps you had to be there.

Dream Dancing

Tracks: 1. Close Your Eyes (5:19); 2. Too Late Now (4:05); 3. Quasimodo (4:52); 4. Lover, Come Back to Me (6:28); 5. Dream Dancing (9:50); 6. Blue Lou (3:04); 7. Some Other Time (5:56); 8. You're a Lucky Guy (4:39); 9. You're All the World to Me (4:36); 10. What's New? (4:00); 11. I'm Shooting High (4:05); 12. Not Exactly Paris (5:00).
Personnel: Bill Charlap: Piano; Dennis Irwin: Bass; Eddie Locke: Drums; Warren Vaché: Cornet, Vocals.

My Shining Hour

Tracks: 1. My Shining Hour (7:21) 2. I Fall in Love Too Easily (6:37) 3. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (8:22) 4. Poor Butterfly (6:52) 5. Purple Gazelle (5:54) 6. Isfahan (7:28) 7. My Romance (6:49) 8. There'll Never Be Another You (8:00) 9. The End of a Love Affair (8:19) 10. Cherokee (10:41)
Personnel: Dave Cliff: Guitar; Allan Ganley: Drums; Dave Green: Bass; Brian Lemon: Piano; Allan Vaché: Clarinet; Warren Vaché: Cornet.

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